This section is intended to merely provide background for embodiments of the present invention and is not considered prior art in the claims.
With the development of mobile communication networks and the advance in terminal specifications, mobile communication terminals have become the necessity for modern people and have evolved into total entertainment equipment beyond typical simple communication devices or information providing devices.
Such mobile communication terminals have a function for performing short-range wireless communication, such as near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth, in addition to a communication function through mobile communication networks.
NFC has a short communication distance and requires a separate wireless communication chip. However, Bluetooth has a relatively long communication distance and most terminals have a Bluetooth communication function equipped therein. Thus, various communication services are being developed using Bluetooth.
Further, service solutions for providing a variety of information to mobile communication terminals possessed by users are being developed using a beacon that utilizes Bluetooth communication.
As an example, a beacon-based content providing service is being used in which a beacon device installed in a member shop may transmit a periodic signal using electromagnetic or sound waves to drive a certain application of a nearby mobile communication terminal and provide desired content.
In this case, services provided by service providers may include services in various fields such as promotion, finance, payment, games, or the like, which are currently provided on the wired/wireless Internet, for example, a comparative simple promotion page service, a service for downloading a low-priced discount coupon, a service for paying for a product purchased in a store, and a service for downloading applications such as a game to users.
However, since anyone can transmit a Bluetooth beacon signal using a mobile device equipped with a Bluetooth communication function, a malicious user may provide false information to other users of mobile communication terminals. In addition, when communication ranges of beacon devices installed in a plurality of member shops that are located adjacent to one another overlap one another, a user may receive beacon information from an adjacent member shop, instead of receiving beacon information from a member shop in which the user is located, thus there is a problem in which the beacon information of the adjacent member shop is received.